Espresso Lounge: Diner's delight

In recent times, Dhaka has seen a spate of cafes-n-coffee corners flood the city's food scenario. Almost every neighborhood now has a few, if not more of such cafes. Each is styled and loaded with both regular and unique items on its menu. From the bustling downtowns to the swanky suburbs-the number of these outlets is just increasing-much to the delight of the youngsters and food-lovers too!

Espresso Lounge is one of the newest additions to this fast-growing list of cafes in the capital. It is located at Rd 27 of Banani, just opposite of the park's Puja field. A sister concern of The Federal Group, the stylish café made its debut in January 2025.

Although it is only a few months old-the café has already become a favorite among the city's diners. That is not only because of the food but also their beautiful décor and location. Spread over two floors, the Espresso Lounge is all about good times coupled with an array of delicious food items.

The menu features an array of delicacies, which range from Pan-Asian to Continental and Oriental-giving it a very distinct international touch. It is rich with segments like soups-n-salads, sandwiches-n-burgers, pizzas-n-steaks and, of course, dips-n-desserts.

It is quite a spread made of around fifty dishes, excluding the drinks and desserts. Alongside the regular appetizers like satays and soups-there are unique dishes like Caprese Avocado, Quinoa Protein, Salmon Caesar, Lobster Bisque, Kimchi Noodles, Seafood Thermidor, Tomahawk Steak, Lobster Chowmein, Lasagne, and Baked Cannelloni, to name a few.

Mohammed Khaled Ujjaman Khan

There are also a few platters like-Seafood Platter (with calamari, crab, salmons' sea bass, and prawns), Meat Platter Madness (a combo of beefs, chicken, sausage, chicken wings, and chicken breasts), and Kebab Platter (botis and seekhs). These Platters are paired with rice, salads, and other selected sides.

Espresso Lounge is one of the rare places in Dhaka which serves a rare dish in the city and that is Wagyu Beef. Originating in Japan-it is derived from a special breed of cattle that has turned it into a global delicacy because of its texture and taste, thus making it globally one of the very expensive variety of steaks.

Their menu also offers burgers, steaks, and pizzas, featuring Wagyu Beef as one of the prime ingredients. It is indeed both a privilege and pleasure to savor this specialty right in our city. Espresso Lounge surely deserves an accolade for this.

Last but not the least is, of course, their drinks and desserts. The beverage segment is a splash of Lemonades-n-Smoothies, Mojitos-n-Mocktails, Frappes-n-Fruit juices, and, of course, teas and a variety of coffees-both hot and cold. Their signature dessert is Basbousa-a Mediterranean dessert that is trending high in the local gourmet scenario. There are also favorites like chocolate souffle, chocolate lava cake, kunefe, and cheesecake.

The lounge is adorned in a very stylish way with green being the dominant color. Lots of natural light comes in through the glass openings, which makes it a warm and welcoming place. A spiraling marble staircase leads to the upper section of the lounge. Both the floors are well-designed with cozy sofas-sitting snugly amongst trendy decors.

The coffee shop is smartly paired with their own bakery, that serves the usual cookies-n-croissants and a number of popular baked goodies. Their coffee is freshly grounded on-spot-another of their rare specialties, because very few places in this city serves coffee that is freshly grounded right at the premise.

Armed with growing popularity-the management is planning soon to step into new neighborhoods like Dhanmondi and Uttara, along with a take-away-only facility at Kemal Ataturk Avenue in Banani.

-Asma Ali